Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Newcastle, South Africa

For one person, living is cheaper in Newcastle: $1,020 a month against $2,206 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Newcastle
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Newcastle Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,206

/mo nomad

Newcastle

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,020

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Newcastle

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lisbon and in Newcastle actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,206 in Lisbon versus $1,020 in Newcastle.

Lisbon $2,206
Newcastle $1,020

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,276 in Lisbon versus $1,627 in Newcastle.

Lisbon $3,276
Newcastle $1,627

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $2,235 in Newcastle.

Lisbon $4,346
Newcastle $2,235

Living in Lisbon is roughly 116% more expensive than in Newcastle, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 63% above, Newcastle is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.86 €15.00

$9.14 R 150

84.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.0 €54.3

$36.28 R 595

68.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.98 €9.77

$5.33 R 87.4

106.00%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.28 R 37.39

33.77%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.03 R 16.83

121.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.81 R 13.24

107.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$2.36 R 38.73

45.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 €3.48

$3.38 R 55.4

15.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 €1.02

$1.19 R 19.50

-3.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.10 R 18.03

71.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.34 R 21.91

11.94%

Eggs

$4.12 €3.66

$1.83 R 30.08

125.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.01 €11.57

$6.79 R 111

91.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.04 €7.16

$4.97 R 81.6

61.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.89 €15.92

$7.43 R 122

140.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$0.84 R 13.85

170.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.03 R 16.83

68.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.93 R 15.23

95.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.37 R 22.55

96.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$0.96 R 15.69

84.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.72

$1.23 R 20.23

57.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$0.77 R 12.62

89.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 €0.68

$0.61 R 10.01

24.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$3.22 R 52.9

106.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.64 €5.02

$2.93 R 48.01

92.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.37 R 22.50

-5.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.90

$0.88 R 14.39

143.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.30 €2.05

$1.59 R 26.10

44.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.02 €39.17

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.98 €3.54

$0.31 R 5.16

1183.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 €0.57

$0.76 R 12.53

-15.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.93 €16.84

$14.48 R 238

30.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.53 R 25.16

49.02%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.4K €29.7K

$35.8K R 587.8K

-6.85%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.5K €34.3K

$34.1K R 560.0K

12.82%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$158 €141

$154 R 2,527

2.70%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.54 €15.61

$37.56 R 616

-53.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.18 €27.75

$36.63 R 601

-14.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.64 €39.73

$32.65 R 536

36.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.98 €16.89

$10.38 R 170

82.85%

Cinema Ticket

$9.58 €8.52

$7.29 R 120

31.41%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$674 €599

$265 R 4,353

153.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K €16.7K

$6,178 R 101.4K

203.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €90.9

$52.7 R 865

93.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.90 €40.85

$32.02 R 525

43.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €91.0

$91.7 R 1,505

11.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 €109

$82.1 R 1,347

48.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,641 €1,460

$434 R 7,116

278.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,187 €1,057

$321 R 5,260

270.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,825 €2,514

$759 R 12.4K

272.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 €1,796

$751 R 12.3K

168.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,836 €6,973

$676 R 11.1K

1059.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,701 €4,183

$704 R 11.5K

567.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,687 €1,501

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.82

11.34

-66.31%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lisbon: November 1, 2026

Last update for Newcastle: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Newcastle

$321 31.5% 73% $867

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$275 12.5%

Newcastle

$154 15.1% 43.8% $120

Eating Out

Lisbon

$245 11.1%

Newcastle

$142 14% 42% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$207 9.4%

Newcastle

$228 22.4% 10.3% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.6%

Newcastle

$116 11.4% 30.5% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Newcastle

$47 4.6% 26% $17

Getting Around

Lisbon

$60 2.7%

Newcastle

$11 * 1% 82.6% $50

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,641 in Lisbon and $434 in Newcastle. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61 in Lisbon vs $36 in Newcastle for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $154 per month, with Newcastle cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇿🇦 Newcastle

🕒 Local time

06:33 6:33 AM

08:33 8:33 AM

2 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

363,236

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lisbon Newcastle 8,430 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisbon
Newcastle

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Newcastle: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,206 in Lisbon and $1,020 in Newcastle, so Newcastle is about 54% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $3,309 in Lisbon and $1,529 in Newcastle to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,641 in Lisbon versus $434 in Newcastle. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 78% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,206 per month in Lisbon versus $1,020 in Newcastle – Newcastle is about 54% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,020 in Newcastle versus $2,206 in Lisbon, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Newcastle but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Newcastle the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.